The idea for AptiTeam grew from our experiences as mothers of young sons and as working professionals. Today, most work is accomplished through interactions with colleagues and co-workers. Therefore, while academic achievement and acquiring today’s technical skills are both necessary, those alone are not sufficient for success.
Over our careers we’ve participated in numerous management and leadership seminars and trainings designed to teach us about our own strengths, the strengths of others and the skills necessary for productive collaboration and team management.
Given the criticality of these non-technical, collaboration skills, it occurred to us, “Why do we wait until a person becomes a manager to introduce skill building in this area?” Kids -- especially those in their middle school years -- also need the opportunity to identify and appreciate their own strengths, as well as appreciate the skills and strengths of others. They need to learn how to participate on a team comprising unique talents and abilities, and learn how to design and lead these teams as well.
We believe students can be offered team collaboration training in an age appropriate way and by building these skills will see benefit in both their academic careers in the short term, and their professional or entrepreneurial endeavors in the long term.
